A Streamer Like No Other, STUNNING Audio, But An Identity Crisis - Volumio Motivo

[@mikecampbell5856]

Great review as usual Matt. I know that if this was your to keep, you would soon have this in your workshop, building a beautiful walnut stand for it.I will stick to my Wiim. I'm easy to please. LOL

[@MattCoykendall1]

I do like to work with walnut!

[@marioburger67]

Ich habe gleich 2 Wiim gekauft. Mega geil. Bin angekommen

[@johnstump2433]

Enjoy your coverage of the pros and cons! Thanks again Matt for another great review..

[@MattCoykendall1]

You bet John!

[@nobodyimportant2294]

Great work, really appreciate the honesty in your reviews 👍🏻

[@VolumioTechSupport]

Thank you for your honest and precise review. I’d like to share a few thoughts about the concept behind our product. As you rightly pointed out, the device offers a versatile combination of outputs, allowing users the flexibility to choose their preferred connections. Introducing a headphone amp was an innovative step for our product line, and from that idea came the addition of a display, making it naturally suited for desktop use in this specific context. For all other scenarios, our app ensures seamless remote management of the device. We deeply value your recognition of the sound quality of the Motivo, as significant effort has been dedicated to achieving a "clean" and refined sonic performance right from the source. I don’t see this as an identity crisis but rather as a challenge-a challenge that, like all others, carries an inherent degree of risk. Ultimately, we leave the final judgment to our audience, who explicitly requested a product like this. Thank you once again for the balance and objectivity of your review. Davide - Volumio Product Specialist

[@darkages9507]

1:25 Stone Temple Pilots-Purple was one of my favorite albums. 30 years, shoot.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Time flies, I think about that with a lot of the albums I listen to as well.

[@kenhiett5266]

"If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris Bueller How many good ones from that genre succumbed to the junk.

[@D1N02]

Volumio now has an upgraded Rivo, the Rivo plus. Has i2s now and improved clock modules and better sp/dif outputs. A more appealing offering for me. Although you have to calculate in a better power supply (which Volumio is now also selling). But you can also connect an external CD player to it over USB so it becomes a CD transport and you can send Album Art to a big screen over HDMI. Pretty neat

[@razisn]

According to the horse's mouth, sq wise it is not worth the upgrade if used exclusively through a USB connection. CD transport and screen over HDMI are features of the plain Rivo too.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Their offerings have certainly grown over the last year. It’s sort of a pick what connections/features work best for you deal at this point.

[@D1N02]

@@MattCoykendall1 they had the Rivo €200 off on Black Friday. I should have gotten it then.

[@razisn]

I have watched ALL of the Volumio related reviews on YT and I have never heard a reviewer pointing out that Volumio supports DSP EQ in the form of both graphic and parametric EQ through the Fusion DSP plugin. Everybody talks about the WiiM EQ though. Just a pet peeve of mine.

[@MattCoykendall1]

That’s fair, there are a number of plug ins available for Volumio customization.

[@sherylkatz8827]

Looks like an overwrought design. I have a couple of WiiM devices and they really are not necessary, a tablet works great as a transport. Choose your dac and amplifier.

[@NeilBlanchard]

I think your assessment is totally fair, and on point. The Rivo is the one product that has the best use-case for me, personally, that Volumio makes. I kind of doubt I would be happy with the DAC in this unit - now that I have heard a Geshelli J2S AKM 4499, and now that I have their Dayzee. So, a stand alone streamer with a screen would be nice - except as you point out , the screen is implemented in a way that doesn't fit my use.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Hey Neil, Radio Paradise if I recall right?

[@NeilBlanchard]

@MattCoykendall1 yes, but with the ability to sign into my RP account, so that I can listen to a stream of all the songs I have rated 7 (of 10) or above. The BlueOS does this - and with an external 5V LPS the Node 2i sounds much better than stock, in my opinion.

[@MattCoykendall1]

Yeah I can imagine if you spent the time to rate all these over the years it’s not something you want to lose. We still need to connect on one of your DIY speakers I feel like!

[@NeilBlanchard]

@@MattCoykendall1 - I have *loved* listening to Radio Paradise for almost 20 years - they are a listener supported (i.e. no advertisements!) "radio station" that has a person DJ'ing a really wide range of rock and roll music - and include music all the way back to early blues and jazz - and the occasional classical music piece. I have been introduced to more new-to-me music on RP that I now would never want to be without - I cannot count the number ... So, over that time I have rated thousands and thousands of songs, and the fact they offer the "My Favorites Mix" - is an incredibly wonderful thing! I have to remember to also listen to their Main Mix some of the time, if only to be introduced to some more music that I have not heard before.

[@razisn]

The Rivo+ is out, complementing, not replacing , the Rivo.

[@jeroenvanwesemael8556]

Thanks for the review. How would you compare this to a cheaper one like the node or wimm ultra if you purely look at sq? Is it as a small diff like you always say exists between dacs or does all the hardware worth the premium and do you really hear more details. Blacker background etc?

[@MattCoykendall1]

I can say the Motivo built quality is much higher than the brands mentioned, it does feel like a high end piece with its materials and just general construction. The sound quality is much closer and it really just depends on the rest of the gear in your system if that level of fidelity is going to make a large difference to you. When considering streamers I would suggest looking for the software you prefer as its my #1, the software isnt stable your unlikely to use it. I then look at features and connections that fit the rest of my gear. Sound quality is much harder to pin down because a different sound does not always mean a better sound depending on who you ask and can vary so much depending on pairings.

[@jeroenvanwesemael8556]

@MattCoykendall1 thansk!! This is my finding as well. I use a denon 3800h and have the pre outs going into an atoll in200 to give my arendal 1723s towers enough power. The atoll has home theather bypass so acts like a power amp. Once in a while I try other streamers to check if the sq is better than the dac/pre amp of the Denon. But I can hear NO or HARDLY any differences. Not even with a 2000 euro streamer from NAD. DACS and streamers just differ to little to bother with it seems....

[@Brian_Romska]

Thanks for the vid, I’m definitely not interested in this specifically but I do want to upgrade to a better streamer one day, WiiM ultra is working fine for now tho, thanks again Matt!

[@sabrowenie]

$1800 is a hard no. If album art is important, buy a dedicated ipad and a small stand. Have the album art nearby as you stream on your Node, WiiM, etc. Or cheaper yet, airplay to an Apple TV and run TVs optical out. BTW missing the optical out of the old ATV.

[@MattCoykendall1]

I get it, I have an iPad in my listening space that is primarily used for streaming.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

Ive already got a screen on my phone. I don't see the point of having a screen 4m away that i can't read. If im at a desk im wearing headphones and im not staring at album art on a screen like a weirdo.

[@jarms40]

This looks like my old Nativ Vita.

[@pascalmartin1891]

A screen on each device is a bad idea. The TV is better at a distance, the phone or tablet is better for controls. Neither costs extra because you already have them

[@stephencharlton2024]

Crazy price

[@razisn]

You probably haven't seen the really crazy prices out there.

[@patrickmeylemans9627]

The free version of Volumio was never stable for me Mo0de is way more stable 😊 anyhow USB out to a good DAC is the way to go, clock of the DAC is in charge and a good implementation has galvanic isolation… importance of streamer less important in this setup

[@jlutell]

fyi now roon ready

[@MattCoykendall1]

Good to know, not a roon user but I’m curious these days.

[@jlutell]

⁠I love roon. Right after I finished watching your video they sent an email announcement regarding certification. Thanks for your channel.

[@tanachip]

Honestly, just get a freaking Apple iPad Pro and a really god separate dac. The pair would sound better and has more functionality.

[@yttean98]

Rip off at $1800 compared to WiiM Ultra at $399.

[@jp93309]

No remote, monthly subscription and a horrible form factor. For $1800. This device is DOA and soon to be destined for Woot deals.

[@razisn]

no monthly subscription, can't you listen properly?

[@MattCoykendall1]

If you buy a product like the Motivo or Rivo they include the premium version of their operating system. Typically people are only paying if they want to use this version on something like a raspberry pi streamer.

[@dgdave2673]

LOL, 😂 it’s a massive failure at this price point! A tethered touch screen is like a bird that can’t or not allowed to fly. What a disaster design failure. Squeezebox Touch did all this and more 15 years back for $250 or so. So sad that fcukin Logitech killed a wonderful product instead of upgrading it, they could have been leaders in this segment.

[@tonymolina7744]

@MattCoykendall1 Another informative and excellent review. Thanks! Have learned tons on your channel.🙃

[@MattCoykendall1]

Hey Tony!